25:27 Al-Furqaan (The Criterion)

{ وَيَوْمَ يَعَضُّ الظَّالِمُ } بشركه وكفره وتكذيبه للرسل { عَلَى يَدَيْهِ } تأسفا وتحسرا وحزنا وأسفا. { يَقُولُ يَا لَيْتَنِي اتَّخَذْتُ مَعَ الرَّسُولِ سَبِيلًا } أي طريقا بالإيمان به وتصديقه واتباعه.

وقوله تعالى: "ويوم يعض الظالم على يديه" الآية يخبر تعالى عن ندم الظالم الذي فارق طريق الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم وما جاء به من عند الله من الحق المبين الذي لا مرية فيه وسلك طريقا أخرى غير سبيل الرسول فإذا كان يوم القيامة ندم حيث لا ينفعه الندم وعض على يديه حسرة وأسفا وسواء كان سبب نزولها في عقبة بن أبي معيط أو غيره من الأشقياء فإنها عامة في كل ظالم كما قال تعالى: "يوم تقلب وجوههم في النار" الآيتين فكل ظالم يندم يوم القيامة غاية الندم.

The Terrors of the Day of Resurrection, and how the Wrongdoers will wish that They had taken a Path with the Messenger

Here Allah tells us about the terror of the Day of Resurrection and the tremendous events that will happen, including the splitting of heavens when they are pierced by the clouds, that is the shadow of the magnificent light which dazzles all sight. The angels of heaven will come down on that Day and surround all creatures at the place of gathering, then the Lord, may He be blessed and exalted, will come to pass judgement. Mujahid said, "This is as Allah says:

هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلاَّ أَن يَأْتِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي ظُلَلٍ مِّنَ الْغَمَامِ وَالْمَلَـئِكَةُ

(Do they then wait for anything other than that Allah should come to them in the shadows of the clouds and the angels)" (2:210)

الْمُلْكُ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْحَقُّ لِلرَّحْمَـنِ

(The sovereignty on that Day will be the true (sovereignty) of the Most Gracious,) This is like the Ayah,

لِّمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ لِلَّهِ الْوَحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ

(Whose is the kingdom this Day: It is Allah's, the One, the Irresistable!) (40:16) In the Sahih it says:

«أَنَّ اللهَ تَعَالَى يَطْوِي السَّمَوَاتِ بِيَمِينِهِ، وَيَأْخُذُ الْأَرَضِينَ بِيَدِهِ الْأُخْرَى، ثُمَّ يَقُولُ: أَنَا الْمَلِكُ أَنَا الدَّيَّانُ، أَيْنَ مُلُوكُ الْأَرْضِ؟ أَيْنَ الْجَبَّارُونَ؟ أَيْنَ الْمُتَكَبِّرُونَ؟»

(Allah, may He be exalted, will fold up the heavens in His Right Hand, and will take the earths in His other Hand, then He will say: "I am the Sovereign, I am the Judge. Where are the kings of the earth Where are the tyrants Where are the arrogants")

وَكَانَ يَوْماً عَلَى الْكَـفِرِينَ عَسِيراً

(and it will be a hard Day for the disbelievers.) means it will be very difficult, because it will be the Day of justice and the decisive judgement, as Allah says:

فَذَلِكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَوْمٌ عَسِيرٌ - عَلَى الْكَـفِرِينَ غَيْرُ يَسِيرٍ

(Truly, that Day will be a hard Day -- Far from easy for the disbelievers) (74:9-10). This is how the disbelievers will be on the Day of Resurrection. As for the believers, Allah says:

لاَ يَحْزُنُهُمُ الْفَزَعُ الاٌّكْبَرُ

(The greatest terror will not grieve them.)

وَيَوْمَ يَعَضُّ الظَّـلِمُ عَلَى يَدَيْهِ يَقُولُ يلَيْتَنِى اتَّخَذْتُ مَعَ الرَّسُولِ سَبِيلاً

(And (remember) the Day when the wrongdoer will bite at his hands, he will say: "O! Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger.") Here Allah tells us of the regret felt by the wrongdoer who rejected the path of the Messenger and what he brought from Allah of clear truth concerning which there is no doubt, and followed another path. When the Day of Resurrection comes, he will feel regret but his regret will avail him nothing, and he will bite on his hands in sorrow and grief. Whether this Ayah was revealed concerning `Uqbah bin Abi Mu`it or someone else among the doomed, it applies to every wrongdoer, as Allah says:

يَوْمَ تُقَلَّبُ وُجُوهُهُمْ فِى النَّارِ

(On the Day when their faces will be turned over in the Fire) as mentioned in those two Ayat 33:66 Every wrongdoer will feel the ultimate regret on the Day of Resurrection, and will bite at his hands, saying:

وَيَوْمَ يَعَضُّ الظَّـلِمُ عَلَى يَدَيْهِ يَقُولُ يلَيْتَنِى اتَّخَذْتُ مَعَ الرَّسُولِ سَبِيلاً - يوَيْلَتَا لَيْتَنِى لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلاَناً خَلِيلاً

(O! Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger. Ah! Woe to me! Would that I had never taken so-and-so as an intimate friend!) meaning, the one among the propagators of misguidance who diverted him from true guidance and led him to follow the path of misguidance, whether this refers to Umayyah bin Khalaf or his brother Ubayy bin Khalaf, or to someone else.

لَّقَدْ أَضَلَّنِى عَنِ الذِّكْرِ

(He indeed led me astray from the Reminder) means the Qur'an,

بَعْدَ إِذْ جَآءَنِى

(after it had come to me.) means, after it had reached me. Allah says:

وَكَانَ الشَّيْطَـنُ لِلإِنْسَـنِ خَذُولاً

(And Shaytan is to man ever a deserter (in the hour of need). ) meaning, he leads him away from the truth and diverts him from it, and uses him for the purposes of falsehood and calls him to it.

And it will be a day when the wrongdoer the idolater ‘Uqba b. Abī Mu‘ayt — who had uttered the two-part profession ‘there is no god but God Muhammad (s) is His Messenger’ but retracted it in order to please Ubayy b. Khalaf — will bite his hands in regret and anguish on the Day of Resurrection saying ‘O yā is for drawing attention would that I had followed a way with the Messenger! Muhammad (s) a route to guidance.

تَشَقَّقُ السَّمَاءُ بِالْغَمَامِ (The sky will break open with a cloud - 25:25). The explanation of the verse is that the sky will rip apart and a sort of liquid cloud will descend from it which will be carrying angels with it. This cloud will look like a canopy descending from the sky and will be bearing Allah Ta’ ala's refulgence surrounded by angels. This will precede the beginning of the reckoning and the sky will rip open only to make an opening. It will not be the same ripping as the one when the sur (صُور) will be blown to finish off the earth and the sky, because this descension of the cloud will take place after the second blowing of the sur (صُور) when the earth and the sky would have taken the new shape. (Bayan u1-Qur’ an)

(On the day when the wrong-doer gnaweth his hands�) [25:27]. �Ata� al-Khurasani reported that Ibn �Abbas said: �Ubayy ibn Khalaf used to go to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, keep his company and listen to his speech without believing in him. �Uqbah ibn Abi Mu�ayt, then, rebuked him for doing so, and so this verse was revealed about it�. Said al-Sha�bi: � �Uqbah [ibn Abi Mu�ayt] was a friend of Umayyah ibn Khalaf. When �Uqbah embraced Islam, Umayyah said to him: �I do not want to ever see you if you follow Muhammad�. �Uqbah disbelieved again and renounced Islam to please his friend, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�. Other commentators of the Qur�an said: �Ubayy ibn Khalaf and �Uqbah ibn Abi Mu�ayt were allies. It was the habit of �Uqbah, upon returning from a travel, to invite the nobles of his people to eat with him. �Uqbah also used to keep the company of the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. He returned one day from one of his travels, made some food and invited people and the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, to eat. When the food was placed before the invitees, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to him: �I will not eat your food until you bear witness that there is no deity except Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah�. �Uqbah said: �I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah�, upon which the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, ate from his food. Ubayy was absent on that occasion. But when he was informed of what had happened, he said to �Uqbah: �You have renounced the religion of your forefathers?� �Uqbah said: �By Allah, I did not. I had a man in my house who refused to eat my food unless I bore witness to him and I was ashamed to let him leave my house without him eating, and so I bore witness to him and he ate my food�. Ubayy said to him: �I will never be happy with you until you go to him, spit on his face and step on his neck�.